Letter: Pay phones disconnected

On a recent afternoon, when my cellphone battery had expired and I was running late for an appointment, I drove along Broadway in both Taunton and Raynham seeking a pay phone. I found several of the old familiar signs, prominently displayed, one even accompanied by the words “public telephone.”

On a recent afternoon, when my cellphone battery had expired and I was running late for an appointment, I drove along Broadway in both Taunton and Raynham seeking a pay phone. I found several of the old familiar signs, prominently displayed, one even accompanied by the words “public telephone.”

In each instance, I stopped and readied my quarters, only to discover empty boxes, an actual telephone that had been disconnected or no evidence of a phone whatsoever.

While cellular phones may now be as ubiquitous as the pay phones they have all but replaced, still not everyone has a cellphone, and still not every cellphone is reliable.

There are people who still look for pay phones when other options have failed them. Out of courtesy to those in need, I would implore the businessmen of Taunton, Raynham and all other communities in our area to remove their pay phone signs if they no longer have functioning pay phones. It’s really no different than removing signs or advertisements for any other product or service you’ve ceased to offer.